elima mau pilikia li'ili'i
by robustketchup55555
Summary: 5 little problems. Most people describe their kids as little angels. Steve would like to call these 5 kids he adopted angels, but these 5 little problems are more like 5 little soldiers. Rated T- Warnings on top of each chapter.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the original characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _No major warnings for this chapter._**

 **Chapter 1.**

Steve looked at the pile of paperwork on his desk.

It looked...almost intruding.

No, it was intruding.

Apparently, Commander Steve McGarrett had fallen behind on paperwork, so his team followed a lead without him while he was supposed to fill and file for the rest of the day.

Why couldn't Kono and Chin, being the amazing cousin team they are, design a system so he didn't have to do paperwork? He'd rather be annoying the heck out of Danno in the silver Camaro, busting down doors with guns ablaze, and in the heart of the action than sitting motionless at his desk.

Heck, he'd rather be testifying in court, which was the second-boringest thing next to paperwork.

He remembered what Danny said to him before leaving.

" _Yeah, superSEAL, of course you'd rather be out with us." The detective waves his hands around wildly. "Maybe it will teach you a lesson to not fall behind next time!" He is about to leave the office; Chin and Kono are waiting for him. "Oh wait! I'm talking to Steven McGarrett! I hope you finish that pile of paperwork by next year!" Steve shakes his head, smiling at his partner's antics. Then he remembers that he actually has a stack of papers, files, requests, complaints, and much, much more on his desk._

" _Crap." He groans. Hopefully he will be finished by next year._

Reentering the present, Steve shakes his head. Daydreaming, fantasizing, and stalling are not going to get the job done. He picks up the first piece of paper. He reads it through.

It's a complaint. Left by Danny.

"Really?!" Steve shouts.

* * *

When the 5-0 minus McGarrett followed up on the lead, they weren't expecting it to be the right one. They had hit a drywall on this case, an abduction case involving 5 siblings. They had been at General Kai's home, found by the kidnappers, General Kai had been killed, and the kids taken. They had been missing for just over a week now, and nobody but the 5-0 cared. In fact, not a lot of people even knew about the case. General Kai was their last remaining relative when their parents died in a car crash after the youngest was born.

* * *

Danny took the front door, Kono took the side door, and Chin took the back door.

"5-0!" Danny shouts. "We're coming in!" He kicks down the door to the beautiful house alongside the beach. Kono and Chin follow suit, also coming in. They each sweep every room until they meet up, a large room, fully surrounded by the other rooms, being the only room unsearched.

The team silently counts to three before entering.

They see the kidnappers, and all of the 5 kids are present. The kids only seem to have suffered bruising and minor cuts, with a couple broken arms here and there.

When HPD finally carted off all the kidnappers to jail, Danny addresses the kids. After removing the duct tape from their hands, feet, and mouths, the kids seemed to realize 5-0 was on their side.

* * *

"So, no remaining relatives to take you?" Danny asks.

"No." The oldest says.

"You know what that means, right?" Kono asks softly.

"Foster care." Chin says.

"We can try to find somebody to adopt you before Child Protection Services butts in, but that's unlikely." Danny reminds them of the truth.

"Not if we play it right," One of the girls mutters, but nobody but her siblings hear her.

"So, we can try and help you, but we need to know some stuff," Chin says hopefully. "I'd like to start with names, ages, and grades," He finishes.

"I'm Kaleo, but these guys call me Kale. 18, and I'm Freshman at University of Hawaii, majoring Risk Management." Kale sums up. He's clearly a leader of the siblings.

"I'm Alikae, I go by Alex. I'm 16 and I'm a junior at McKinley." Alex explains, she straightens up a little.

"Liliha, go by Lili, 13, 8th grade Kamehameha." Lili monotones, itching a scratch on her nose.

"My name's Ekewaka, but nobody calls me that, they call me Eke. I'm 11, 5th grade Kamehameha," Eke details. He then nudges his brother to speak.

"I'm Oline, but everybody calls me Ollie. I'm 6, 1st grader Kamehameha." Ollie gives a brief description of himself.

"It's nice to meet you guys, I'm Kono," Kono says introducing herself.

"I'm Chin, pleased to meet you as well," Chin adds.

"I'm Danny," Danny says sticking his hand out as a proper American introduction goes. Lili is the one to return the handshake. Her siblings stare at her.

"What? It's better than having to hug somebody you just met," Lili points out.

"See?!" Danny says to Chin and Kono. "Somebody, a 13 year old girl, understands how I feel," He explains.

"Whatever, bro. Hey kids, we need to get you to HPD so you can answer some questions for them, they'd probably like that," Chin says.

* * *

Malia meets them at HPD. Not wanting to deal with the whole hospital, Chin called her. She just finished setting Lili's left arm in a cast, and she starts on Kale's left arm. Alex is answering questions.

Danny's phone buzzes in his pocket. He fishes it out and sees a text from Grace.

 _it's ur weekend to pick me up, remember_

Danny remembers. He quickly types out a reply.

 _be there in a minute, monkey_

 _ok danno :)_

Danny smiles at the reply before calling Steve. He's already halfway to the school when he picks up.

" _What's up, Danno?"_

"We got the kids at HPD. Kono and Chin are handling, but if you finished your homework it might be smart to join them." Danny explains.

" _Still a few more files, but I'll be over as soon as I'm done. McGarrett out,"_

Danny hangs up.

* * *

When Steve reaches HPD, he quickly hustles through the doors and finds Kono. She hands him the file without a word.

"You ok?" Chin asks, Realizing his cousin's silence.

"I just finished reading through their files. They seem like really great kids who're gonna be stuck, split up, and kicked out of a bazillion foster homes." She says quietly.

"Foster care is the option if we can't find anybody to adopt them," Chin reminds her.

Steve scans through the files, and he notices something in the notes section of each form.

"Why does it say they have military background?" Steve asks.

"Oh. General Kai kept them out of school until just last year as he became busier. He taught them what was required, but also had them attend classes he taught at a training base." Chin explains.

"We don't know to what extent, though." Kono adds. "We don't know if we're dealing with lightly informed cadets or full on trainees."

"Kale just explained that they've all been in these classes for 6 years, but the older ones learned faster and were able to cover around a year and half's work in a year." Chin says.

"They definitely know what they're doing," Steve remarks, seeing Eke and Ollie closely watching all the adults in the room, as if expecting more kidnappers to be disguised.

"Certainly." Malia joins the adults, having finished checking all of the kids, even the ones who insisted they were fine.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)**


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the original characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _No major warnings for this chapter._**

 **Chapter 2.**

"I'm adopting them." Steve says. He just arrived at work, and Danny watches as he drops the adoption paperwork on Danny's desk. "I need the information. Medical records, birth certificates, report cards, I need it all."

Kono and Chin caught wind by now.

"On it, boss," Kono says, willing to help the kids out.

"You're 100% on this, right?" Chin asks once he and Steve are alone.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Steve asks, worried he's missing the point.

"They were targeted. Twice. Their parents' car crash wasn't an accident. It was a hit and run by a man whose face matched one of the kidnapper's face." Chin explains.

"Somebody's holding a grudge against the whole family." Steve deduces.

"The kidnappers aren't part of a gang or anything. I haven't figured it out yet, but I'm working on it. I don't want anybody who interacts with these kids to be involved." Chin says gravely and starts to walk away. "Oh yeah, congrats. Laki maika'i, brother," Chin walks away.

"Wait, why do I need luck to take care of 5 kids?" Steve asks.

Danny steps out of his office.

"Sometimes I have trouble with one, Steven!"

* * *

After their dinner of anything Steve could find in his fridge, Steve watches each of the kids closely.

Kale is relaxed. The quickest way to his head is food, and pasta just hit the spot for him. He eyes the ocean, as if planning to kayak, surf, paddleboard, or even just swim in it tomorrow.

Alex is tired. She's had a long day, trying to get Eke and Ollie to behave, and she watches as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon.

Lili is on edge. She's trying to calm down, but she just moved into a complete stranger's house. She wasn't even hungry for dinner, but one look from her sister silenced the thought she hadn't even mentioned.

Eke is energetic. He runs around Steve's yard, playing some game of chase with Ollie.

Ollie is having fun. For the first time since they were kidnapped, the pressure is off of all the kids, and Ollie is glad to have the weight off his chest.

"Alright guys, time to hit the hay," Steve decides, and nobody protests to that.

* * *

The next morning, Steve looks into the kid's room. He set up 3 sets of bunk beds prior to them joining him in his house, and they are lined up against the wall in the guest room. The 6th lower bunk was removed and a long bar hung under the top bunk, creating a place for the kids to hang their school uniforms.

However, on this morning, he doesn't see any one of the children in their beds. The beds are made, neat and precise. Steve, on the brink of calling HPD, Danny, anybody really, calms down when he catches a glimpse of the kids outside. Ready to burst out the back door full of his new-found legal guardian powers, he stops when he reaches for the handle.

The 4 younger kids are across from Kale. Kale leads his siblings in push-ups. Feeling they've reached an inhuman amount of the correctly formed push-ups, they switch to full sit-ups. They perform an inhuman amount of those as well.

It's still early, 5:38, and Steve decides to be easy on them. He also likes to rise early as well to work out in the form of a swim, run, or even a long bike ride. The kids appear to be dripping wet, so Steve assumes they did some form of water sport. Gathering up a pile of fluffy towels, Steve heads outside.

"Hey guys." He says after they come to a break in their exercises. He hands them each a towel. The towels are received gratefully. "You guys usually do this?"

"Yeah. We can stop if you want us to, but yes, we normally do this." Kale says.

"No, I don't want you to stop. I usually do this sort of thing also." Steve says quickly.

"Then why aren't you doing it?" Eke asks.

"I was going to, until I realized none of you were in your beds," Steve explains with a chuckle. "Finish up, I'm going to make breakfast." He heads inside.

* * *

" _What the heck am I going to make for breakfast!"_ Steve thinks. It was hard enough last night, he managed to find frozen lasagne in the freezer. Well, the freezer must be his friend, because he rummaged around enough to produce a package of frozen waffles.

He thinks about the kids as he cuts up fresh fruit[Danny left it for him, claiming he needed to have a balanced diet instead of eating sporadically]. They definitely learned a lesson or two with General Kai. If he told them they needed to stay down or hide, no doubt about it they'd listen, ask no questions, and do as they were told. He's only known them for 24 hours, and he already gets that vibe from the kids.

" _Military background,"_ A voice in the back of his head reminds him. Heck, if he told them to do 100 push-ups each morning, they could and would.

He thinks back to standing in the back door, watching them. He barely heard Kale mutter,

"250. We're done."

They'd thank him for letting them do _only_ 100.

Steve is pulled from his thoughts as the kids file upstairs to take showers.

"Breakfast in 10!" He shouts as the last of Kale's shadow retreats up the stairs.

"Yes sir," He hears Lili mutter to herself, just out of habit.

* * *

The kids silently ate through breakfast.

"How do you guys generally do this?" Steve asks after the kids are all ready for school.

"Typically Kale drops the little guys off at Kamehameha and then me at McKinley." Alex offers.

"I'm lacking a car right now, though," Kale whispers to her.

"I'm not that little," Eke mutters, and Ollie nods in assent.

"They still call me little," Lili adds.

"Woah,woah, not all at once. I can drive all of you today, you 3 are only considered little because they're bigger, and we will solve this car problem later today." Steve says quickly. "We ready to go?"

* * *

After everybody returned to the McGarrett residence subsequent different forms of the same long day of school or work, Steve noticed how Kale left to go upstairs, and one by one, his siblings followed.

Slowly making his way up the stairs, Steve lets his feet fall heavier to blazon his arrival to the second floor. The kids, hearing his earlier attempts to be heard, look up, not at all surprised when he enters their room. When Steve just stands there, watching them, they continue on with their work.

"C'mon. We need to find you a car," Steve says, gesturing to Kale. "I can't have you kids doing homework _all_ day." Steve leaves the room, also leaving no room for argument.

* * *

Kale really didn't want him to do it.

"I can have the money for you in a month! You don't have to do this," Kale pleads.

"It's my responsibility to provide and protect. To provide for you, I need to get you a car. To protect you, I need to get you a safe car." Steve explains.

" _If only Danno were here to see this! He would be so proud. I'm ranting about something that matters!"_ Steve thought.

"He want to pay for it, let him pay for it," Lili points out.

"Yeah, but Kale is paying for college, and a bajillion other things, not to mention gas for the car." Eke adds.

"True." Lili agrees.  
"I can get compensation from the governor, and it won't cost either of us a cent," Steve points out. At this Kale seems to soften.

"So you're not paying for it, then?" He asks.

"He just said that. Take the favor and be glad," Alex says. "I have homework to finish."

"Which color?" Steve asks, nodding to the 2005 Chevy Tahoes in front of them.

"Red!" Ollie shouts, and Kale nods in assent.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _No major warnings for this chapter._**

 **Chapter 3.**

Steve was starting to hate this.

" _Now I know how Danny feels,"_ Steve thinks.

The kids perform everything; from making beds to homework, with precise, military precision.

No matter what time Steve gets up, the kids are already up, beds made and teeth brushed to perfect measures.

Steve got the kids report cards from the last 2 years, finding marks exclaiming praise for neatness, and mostly A's.

Today, the kids came home, Kale dropping them off at home before heading out to a night class.

They head straight up to their room, as usual.

It made Steve sick. Who decided it would be a good idea to drill military precision into kids? Kids? Really?

* * *

Steve caught Alex the next day. She just finished her homework and was heading to the kitchen to get an apple.

"Hey," Steve says from the living room.

Alex walks into the living room, apple in hand.

"Yeah?" Alex asks.

"You guys, you know, don't have to be so, military all the time." Steve suggests, and the rest of the kids look up from the papers they were previously drawing on. They're all listening now.

"You telling us to…?" Kale doesn't get what Steve is saying.

"To stop growing up and just be kids." Steve explains.

"You think we're trying to be like this?" Alex asks, calmer than she feels.

Steve nods half-heartedly.

"We don't know anything else. We've always been like this." Lili seethes.

"But I don't need you guys to be like that." Steve explains. "You can relax,"

"Relax?" Lili asks, visibly boiling now.

"Woah, settle down," Eke whispers to her.

"Mr. Steve, you know, let's just drop this for now," Kale suggests.

" _There it is again. I'm not expecting them to call me dad or anything, but just 'Steve' would be fine,"_ Steve thinks.

Steve nods in consent and Ollie looks back to his drawing.

* * *

Steve wakes up the next morning. He checks in the kid's room, as usual. Of course, just like yesterday, just like the day before yesterday, the kids aren't in the room and the beds are made, as if nobody slept in them the past night. Something's off, but Steve can't seem to fathom the backpacks aren't in their spots lined up against the door. Still not noticing the distinction, Steve heads downstairs, looking for the kids outside. Still not seeing them and slightly more panicked, he methodically scans the waves in the case of the kids swimming or surfing.

He doesn't see them at all. Steve checks all over the property. No sign of them. Then it hits him. Kale car is missing from the driveway. Steve now recalls the missing backpacks.

* * *

"Kono, it's a red 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe 1500. How many of those are on the island?" Steve asks, irked.

"A lot, boss. You got a plate?" Kono retorts.

Steve recites the license plate off the top of his head.

"Of course. Who but you looses newly adopted kids within a week?! Not to mention you know Kale's license plate, you stalker," Danny mutters to himself.

"Easy, bro," Chin suggests to Danny. "Why would they do this, Steve? DId you fight or argue with the kids?" Chin asks.

"No, we didn't fight-" Steve remembers the argument. "I told them they could relax, and stop being so hard on themselves," Steve remembers.

"Woah! Number one rule of parenting!" Danny shouts.

"What? You couldn't have told me this before?!" Steve shouts back.

"I thought you knew! Always let the kid be, never try to tell them to be something else other than they are," Danny says quietly. "If they want to be military strict, let them be. Considering you don't know anything about their past, don't try and tell them anything yet."

"Um, Steve?" Kono asks, interrupting what very well could have been another hour of banter.

"What?" Steve asks, finally turning away from Danny's stare.

"I have one, but the signal is triangulating from multiple areas. Like something's wrong with the car's built in tracking system." Kono says.

"Like somebody's messing with it," Steve says, Kono showing him the location.

"Search it. The whole area. Get HPD on it. I want these kids home now." Steve demands, walking out to begin searching the area himself.

* * *

It's around midnight. Danny finished issuing HPD orders and joined Steve in his on-foot search. They're scouring a patch of woods on the east side of the island.

"You think they made it out this far?" Danny asks. "It's a little extreme even for your conditions."

"I know," Steve says. "But they're somewhere in the triangulated area," Steve tosses his phone to Danny, who studies the picture.

"Wait, it stopped triangulating," Danny says, passing the phone back to Steve. Steve watches as the triangulating signal fades away, before completely disappearing.

"They cut the signal," Steve says, moving with more urgency, if that is possible.

That's when he sees Kale's car, tucked away in a grove of trees clustered closely together.

* * *

Trying to pick the lock quietly was another problem. A quick glance inside the car showed the kids sleeping in the back, and Steve relaxes, just the smallest bit.

"C'mon. Are we getting this thing open or not?" He asks as an HPD specialist works on the car.

"Do you want the alarm system to go off? Let the guy do his job!" Danny shouts at him.

When the hatchback is opened[it felt like an hour to Steve but was really 5 minutes], Steve pulls the hatch up, not at all expecting Lili's cold stare looking him right in the eye.

"You got tired of my military precision. You didn't think I'd keep a watch?" She asks sarcastically, pulling the hatch back shut and locking the door once again.

The door is unlocked and pulled open.

"C'mon, I'm giving you a chance to go away before he wakes up," Lili whispers, also groaning.

* * *

Door shuts.

Door opens.

"Go away."

"No."

* * *

Door shuts.

Door opens.

"Listen to her. Go away." This time it's Kale speaking.

"No. You're under my charge."

* * *

Door shuts.

Door opens.

"You can't keep slamming the door on them. You're going to wake everybody else up." Kale whispers.

"Let's go," Steve says.

"No." Lili says.

"You didn't want us." Kale adds.

"I made a mistake." Steve says, and this time, Danny backs him up. Sort of.

"He's really stupid. Makes stupid mistakes all the time." Danny explains.

"Whatever. I don't care, you're my charges, you're coming back to my place." Steve demands.

Kale shrugs.

"Sure."

"What?" Steve asks, wondering if he heard Kale right.

"Lead the way, we'll follow." Kale says, pulling out the keys to the car.

* * *

The whole way back, Steve checks the rearview mirror 2 times a second. With the ease that Kale answered to his pre-rant, Steve expects Kale to take a turn and turn this into a car chase. Not that Steve would object, but Danny was already threatening to give him a ticket for distracted driving.

"Stop looking in the mirror!" Danny shouts. "Look at the road!"

* * *

Steve heard something in the kid's room the next night. He almost pulled his gun from its holster, but decided against it when he realized it is just the kids talking.

"I like it here," He barely hears Alex say.

"But he doesn't accept us. He wants us to be something we're not. He wants us to 'relax'. Relax?! No! What if-" Kale cuts off Lili's rant.

"Be quiet. Eke and Ollie finally fell asleep."

"Sorry." Lili says.

"We could listen to him. Maybe try to chill just a little." Kale suggests.

"Eke and Ollie already have." Alex adds.

"Maybe it would be better for us to run away again. This time, I'm talking international. Couple plane tickets-"

"Lili, nobody wanted to run away." Alex reminds her.

"Yeah, but it showed him. Hopefully he learns a lesson now." Lili says.

"Look, you have great plans for running away, but when are you gonna realize we don't need to run away?" Kale asks.

"I don't know, maybe when he realizes what his words and actions actually mean." Lili retorts.

"Go to bed." Alex groans.

"I am in bed."

"Go to sleep then." Kale says with an air of finality, and not another word is said.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _No major warnings for this chapter._**

 **Chapter 4.**

1st quarter is over. Steve looks at the small stack of report cards on his desk.

Kale doesn't get a report card, but Steve knows his grades are above average.

Alex is doing well in most subjects, her physics grade is a little lower than she would have liked, but it's ok.

Lili is above average in everything. Except history. Steve found notes left by the teacher.

 _-Lili needs to pay attention and stop drawing in her textbooks._

Steve makes a note to himself to talk to her about it later.

Eke could be doing better in school, but his grade are average and he's not failing anything.

Ollie has good grades. He's advanced, and finds 1st grade easy.

* * *

"What's on your face?" Steve asks. Lili is sitting on the couch.

"It's makeup." Lili returns, not even looking up from her drawing.

"I've never seen you wear makeup." Steve says.

"You've known me for what, 2 weeks?" Lili says.

"It's the first time you've worn makeup in those 2 weeks."

"So?" Lili asks.

"You don't own any makeup." Steve remembers.

"So I'm wearing my sister's. Why do you care about this?" Lili asks, visibly getting angry.

"You claimed makeup was a waste of time and self-esteem 3 days ago." Steve suddenly recalls.

"I changed my mind."

"You're hiding something." Steve takes a step towards her.

"Back off." Lili warns. Steve takes a step back, and Lili takes the chance to dash out of the room.

* * *

Steve hid all of Alex's makeup. Lili took up wearing sunglasses.

* * *

Steve watches as Lili is about to open the door. She's wearing the sunglasses again and she's just getting home from school. Steve crouches beside the doorway, ready to strike. Lili opens the door, completely unsuspecting. As soon as she opens the door, Steve shoots up and pulls the glasses off her face.

Steve stares into the bruised face of Lili Kahananui.

"What?" Steve asks.

Lili backs out the door slowly. She tries to keep moving backwards, but her siblings are behind her.

"Who did this?" Steve asks.

"Nikki Lupeforte. Who else?" Eke says, as if everybody knows the bully messing with the kids.

Apparently, everybody doesn't.

"Nikki who?" Kale asks.

"Somebody's bulling you?" Alex asks.

"What?" Steve asks.

"She doesn't dare touch me or Ollie. She knows that would be Lili's last straw." Eke says.

"Last straw?" Steve asks.

* * *

After standing outside in the rain for 5 minutes, Steve decided to bring them inside.

"So, you don't hit her back?" Alex asks.

"No. I'm already with bad terms with the principal." Lili says shortly.

"Because she's a girl? You're a girl too," Steve says.

"That's not it. She can't even punch properly. It would be a completely unfair fight," Ollie points out.

"But she doesn't do anything to Ollie or Eke?" Kale asks.

"Little things." Eke says.

"Taking your lunch and saying horrible things about you is not little," Lili mutters.

"Yeah, but she's not physically pushing us around," Eke says.

"So, how'd she bruise your face?" Steve asks.

"She pushed me. Like Ollie said, she can't even punch." Lili says quietly. "It's not like it hurts or anything."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You, who cannot go 24 hours without punching something, have done nothing to this bully?" Alex asks, non-believing.

"Oh, she still messes with us after she realized we are a force to be reckoned with," Eke says.

"What did you do?" Kale asks, trying not to laugh.

"Well, we may have hacked her social media accounts," Lili says.

"And posted pictures of her being mean," Ollie adds.

"And, maybe one time we accidentally locked her inside the school for 10 hours after the doors locked," Eke adds quietly.

Kale bursts out laughing.

"You guys know how to do all that?" Steve asks.

"Lili, Eke, and Ollie Kahananui. Professional tech geeks. At your service," Lili mutters.

"I can talk with the principal." Steve offers.

"No." Ollie says.

"He'll get mad at you." Eke says.

"Well, then, fight back," Steve suggests.

"Maybe I will, someday." Lili decides.

"Maybe if we stole all her makeup and then gave her a black eye-"

"No." Lili cuts off Eke. "She'd just buy more."

"We buy out all the makeup on the island-"

"She'd borrow her friend's makeup."

"We throw her off a cliff?"

"We'd go to jail."

"Well, I'm out of ideas then." Eke sighs in defeat.

"We could steal her best friend," Ollie says, and the kid's conversation continues like none of the older people are in the room.

"Now, that's the least likely plan, but it just might work," Eke says, and Eke, Lili, and Ollie do their secret fistbump.

* * *

A week later, Steve gets the call.

"Who is it?" Danny asks, still irritated from their last rant.

"The school principal?" Steve says, checking the caller id. He picks up the phone cautiously, as if it were a live grenade.

"Hello?" He asks.

Danny barely catches the conversation, but he catches the words "detention" and "fight".

"Which kid?" Danny asks after Steve hangs up.

"Lili and Eke."

* * *

"It wasn't your fight. You could've stayed out of it." Lili growls to Eke.

"And let them thrash you?" Eke returns. Lili winces as the nurse wraps her and Eke's broken arms. She broke her left arm, Eke broke his right.

Steve watches as the 2 argue. Lili argues because she didn't want Eke to be involved and/or hurt, and Eke argues because he doesn't want Lili to get hurt because of him.

* * *

They had tried plan B. It had gone well, considering Lili had to pretend to really like Nikki's best friend. Alex gave her tips and tricks, and the 3 youngest siblings orchestrated and performed the plan to their best extent.

It all went perfectly until Nikki told her football-playing boyfriend about the 3 little fleas plaguing her life, and he and his buddies ganged up on Lili. Eke jumped into the fight, and the siblings came out with broken arms.

* * *

"What happened to the other guys?" Asked Steve as they were leaving the hospital.

"They're over there." Lili points to the ER, where 3 sullen-looking boys are leaving as well. One of them is holding his bandaged nose.

"Nice job with the pencil," She whispers to Eke.

"Thank you," Eke says back, smiling as they leave.

Steve watches them walk out together, Lili producing a marker from her pocket and beginning to sign Eke's cast, Eke doing the same.

Steve smiles to himself and follows them out the door.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _No major warnings for this chapter._**

 **Chapter 5.**

Steve studies his surroundings. Closed walls, no windows, no doors, just that hatch on the roof.

" _Did they drop me in from there?"_ Steve wonders to himself. It would explain his cracked ribs.

* * *

It began like any other Thursday in the McGarrett household. Some 300 pushups, for starters, some exercise, and some breakfast.

"Catch you guys after school," Steve says, heading out early. Danny has info updates for a gang that's caused 5-0 a lot of trouble.

"Yep," Kale says, nodding, also grabbing his keys.

* * *

After a treacherously long day at school, Ollie, Eke, and Lili meet up in front of the school. Kale always picks them up here.

"I still think we should push her off a cliff." Eke says.

"I still think we'd go to jail for that, Eke," Lili responds shortly. Kale is always here by now.

"Nothing else works. Eke has a point." Ollie says.

"You 2 actually agree on something?" Lili asks, surprised. "Don't you think Kale should be here by now?" Lili asks her siblings.

"So, what's holding him up?" Eke asks.

"Maybe he's picking up Alex first." Ollie suggests.

"She's not out of school for another 20 minutes." Lili says, checking her watch. She proceeds pick up her phone. First she shoots Kale a quick text, and then she tries to track his phone.

"Why does he always turn his location services off?" She mutters.

"You do it too," Eke points out.

"True." Lili says. "He's been quiet on social media since 3:23, a good half hour ago." Lili explains. "Wait, he just received a call from an unknown number 4 minutes ago, he did not answer it." She keeps looking. "They're calling again. He picked up." Lili listens in on the call.

"What are they saying?" Eke asks, and Lili holds up her hand to tell him to be quiet. She's listening intently.

"Somebody got Steve. Some gang he was after." She says to her siblings. "Look, Kale just texted me he's on his way." Lili looks at the phone like it's going to tell her where Steve is.

"What else did they say?" Eke asks.

"They want an exchange."

"Oh." Eke says. "Hey, look at that Camaro!" Eke points out his favorite sports car.

"I know that Camaro. It's the detective." The kids watch as Danny gets out of his car. "He probably thinks we don't know yet," Lili says.

"Let him think that. He doesn't need to know about your 'skills'," Eke points out and Lili nods in assent.

"You got that, Ollie?" Lili asks.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ollie says with a grin.

* * *

Danny approaches them slowly, dreading being the bringer of bad news. He sees them talking to each other. Probably wondering where their brother is, probably wondering why he's here.

"Hey. you guys remember me?" Danny asks when he reaches them.

"Yeah. Detective Williams," Lili says.

"Good memory." Danny remarks.

"Pays off, Detective," Kale says, coming up behind Danny.

"Where's your sister?" Danny asks.

"Her school lets out in 10 minutes." Lili says matter-of-factly.

"So, your crazy legal guardian decided to chase after a gang-member today, and he fell into a trap nobody could've expected." Danny starts. "They're holding him hostage somewhere on the island, and my co-workers are already looking for him. You guys can pick up your sister and then head over to the office. Steve is well known and I don't want you guys to go back to an empty house, ok?" Danny asks.

"Ok," Says Kale. "We'll meet you there."

"Wait," Eke says, and everybody turns to him. "Can I ride in the Camaro? I've never seen the inside of one."

* * *

The rest of the siblings meet Eke at 5-0 HQ.

"His phone is offline, and his car is still at the crime scene, completely empty." Kono says. "We've pinpointed a few locations the gang is known to frequent, but nothing still."

"I followed up on the lead this morning," Chin starts. "Dead-end, but, I found this." He slaps a file down on the table. "A bunch of guys at the correctional facility got kicked from this gang. With the right bargaining, they might reveal a different location, one better suited for hostages?" Chin suggests.

"They won't know." Alex points out. Danny, Chin, and Kono look at her. "I mean, if I ran a gang, and I kicked somebody out, I'd change all the information so they couldn't contribute to police." She says.

"You've got a point, but it's the only thing we've got," Danny says.

"I'll follow up on this, and, Alex, I want you to come with me." Chin says.

"To prove me wrong?" Alex asks.

"No. I like your thinking, and I think it will come in handy."

Alex heads out with Chin. Danny tells the kids to work on homework and disappears into his office, Kono following suit.

* * *

Lili wanders around. She sees the big screens and computers. Then, she sees Steve's empty office, Steve's computer still unlocked from this morning. With a quick check to make sure nobody is looking, Lili slips into his office, pulling the door behind her shut, quickly and silently.

* * *

Kale watches as Lili hides in the office and turns back to his homework, knowing exactly what she's up to.

* * *

"You know something about this gang. What is it?" Alex asks calmly.

"Nothing I would share with you." The man mutters.

"We'll start with little questions." Chin says, and nods to Alex.

"Boss's name?"

"Tyler Yenk."

"Your position?"

"Kidnapping."

"Where'd you keep the hostages?"

"I don't know. I parked the van in an alley, got coffee and walked by the alley. If the van was gone, I'd done my work. If it was still there, I was supposed to wait around a little, walking by the alley every now and then to check until it was gone. It's what got me in here."

* * *

Lili logs into her accounts. Multiple trackers pop up, Kale's, Eke's, and Ollie's all clustering around the same spot, Alex's at the facility with Chin. But what disturbed her the most was that all 25 of Steve's trackers were all over the place.

The sound of footsteps spooked Lili and she looked up just in time to see Danny opening the door to Steve's office.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _Warning:suggested torture._**

 **Chapter 6.**

Danny looks over the computer.

"So, what are you doing?" He asks.

"Nothing." Lili says, shutting the window as quickly as possible.

"Ah, but your older brother out there just tipped me off saying you could find something useful," Danny says. Lili remains silent. "Look, kid, Steve is being held hostage somewhere, and most likely being tortured for information he doesn't have." Lili raises her eyebrows. "It happens a lot, ok?" Lili nods. "If you have something, now is the time to share, got it?" Danny leaves the room without waiting for an answer.

* * *

"Ok, this is wierdly obsessive, but these are all of Steve's trackers." Lili explains, bringing Steve's computer into Danny's office.

"Steve's trackers?" Danny asks.

"I have them all over my siblings, and when we moved in with Steve, we put them all over his stuff. This one is his car, these are his shoes, you get the point," Lili gestures to a couple trackers on the screen.

"Why are they all scattered?" Danny questions the computer screen.

"I don't know. Usually, there in clusters, like Alex's." Lili points the the cluster of points labeled 'Alex'.

"Ok, so, they put one shoe here and another shoe over here," Danny says, and Lili nods.

"I know, this doesn't really help, and it's really creepy." Lili looks down as she speaks.

"No, well, yes, it is creepy, but, this could help."

* * *

Kale watches as the note slips under the door, and just barely catches a glimpse of a silhouette leaving the building. Curiosity killing the cat, Kale picks up the note. It's typed up and completely free of fingerprints. Kale begins to walk towards Danny's office, but stops after reading the note. Danny would never let them go through with it.

 _The Shadow Light gang is willing to perform a prisoner exchange. We will exchange Commander Steve McGarrett in for three or more of the Kahananui kids. They are to be handcuffed together, in the back of a white van parked next to the Waimano stream off of Wiser Road. We will be ready for pickup tomorrow at 16:00. Nobody but 3 or more kids. Any cops or sort of lookout ready to ambush will be dealt with. We highly suggest you do not bring a lookout, and we prefer to not have to kill anybody._

Kale knows they are testing him. This note is geared towards him. They know if he commits to the plan he won't let Danny know. They know that he wants to keep Eke and Ollie safe as possible. They know he'll do it. Kale knows before he shows this to his sisters, he has to be assured Eke and Ollie are in the best possible care. Which is what he sets out to do.

* * *

"So, how do you know they're not after us next?" Kale asks Kono as nonchalantly as he can.

"They don't dare. They know our strengths and numbers," Kono is cut off.

"Which means they know when the best time to nab us is." Kale almost growls.

"Which is why Chin is out buying sleeping bags. We're all staying here overnight, together. It's safer than all of us going home to separate houses."

"They can nab us all at once if we're in the same place."

"But this is the safest place. It's got better security than Steve has ingrained in his head. Look, Kaleo. I know you're worried about your siblings."

"Eke and Ollie."

"Eke and Ollie, then. They're safe here, ok? You got Chin, Danny, and me in between you and the bad guys. And you can ask the governor. We're some of the best cops on this island."

"And were the most wanted kids on this island." Kale says.

"You know about the threats?" Kono asks, surprised.

"They warned us about that car crash, and we were too slow to react. It got our parents killed, right? Steve can't be a casualty because of us."

* * *

Alex waves Lili over.

"You bothering Danny?" Alex asks.

"No, Kale tipped him off and now they're using my trackers to try and piece together Steve's location. It's not working, and it's not gonna help." Lili says, sitting down.

"I tipped him off. No biggie. I have the real problem," Kale says, showing them the note.

"We're doing this? All of us?" Alex asks.

"No, just us 3. Leave Eke and Ollie protected." Kale explains.

"We could hide the note so somebody finds out where we went." Lili suggests.

"No, they'd try to find us and somebody'd get killed." Alex deduces.

"We're only doing this if we all agree. Somebody doesn't want to, we don't do it. It has to be unanimous." Kale says firmly.

"Agreed. I say yes." Lili says.

"I vote yes." Kale says.

"Yes. It's agreed. What do we need to do?" Alex asks.

"Lili. Take all of our trackers offline." Kale says.

"On it. I'll have to get Steve's computer back when Danny's not looking." Lili decides.

"Alex. I want you to spend some time with Eke and Ollie."

"I'm on babysitting duty?" Alex asks.

"Not really. But think. We don't survive this, the last thing they remember is us ignoring them." Kale whispers.

"Ok." Alex says.

"As for me, well, I'm getting rid of the evidence." Kale pulls out a lighter and lights the note on fire, and when the flames near his fingers, he drops it onto the floor and stamps it out with his boots.

* * *

Steve curls over in pain. The hitman is about to deliver another kick when his boss arrives.

"They've agreed. Commander McGarrett, it seems you are going home."

The last thing Steve remembers is being roughly thrown into the back of a van.

* * *

"No last minute change of minds?" Kale asks. Lili and Alex stare back with their blank faces and steely eyes. "Good. Start handcuffing us together." He tosses the handcuffs to Alex, and Lili pulls a duct tape gag over her mouth.

When they finish, they close their eyes in the darkness of the van and wait for 4 o'clock.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 _ **No major warnings for this chapter.**  
_

 **Chapter 7.**

Steve stumbles onto the sidewalk. His head is killing him, but he knows exactly where he is. HQ. He doesn't remember anything. Just the bumpy van ride, being dumped into a dumpster, and spending the night there in his tiredness. Steve tries to pull open the door. It's locked. He feels around in his pockets for keys he doesn't have when the door suddenly opens and Steve feels the gun pressed to his chest.

"Steve?!" Danny asks, surprised.

"Danny!" Steve says, before falling onto the ground, unconscious.

* * *

"Kale, Alex, and Lili are MIA, Steve. They went missing at noon yesterday." Danny breaks the news to Steve in his hospital room.

"What?" Steve asks, and his heart rate jumps, causing a nurse to come in.

"Detective, if this happens again we're going to have to ask you to leave. As I explained once before, Commander McGarrett has serious injury-related trauma."

"Yeah, so I heard," Danny mutters as the nurse leaves.

"Why aren't you looking for them?" Steve demands.

"We're looking into it, am I'm looking after you right now." Danny says. "Eke and Ollie are freaking out. They said their siblings were acting kind of weird before they went missing, Steve."

"Did you check CCTV?"

"Nothing. The went into some woods near your house."

"You search the woods yet?"

"No clues."

"Darn, these kids are good."

"Agreed."

* * *

Kale and Lili make eye contact with Alex just before she is taken away. Lili looks to Kale with just the slightest bit of regret in her steely eyes. Kale sighs inwardly, hoping that's not the last he sees of Alex.

Every instinct in Alex's body tells her to fight, but that won't work. They'll kill her, then they'll kill Lili and Kale, then Steve, then Eke and Ollie. She catches a last glimpse of Lili looking at Kale. They all have the same question.

" _Did we make the right decision?"_

* * *

 **2 YEARS LATER**

"Steve?" Eke asks. The newly-named teenager makes a habit of this everyday. "Any leads?"

"No, Eke. Nothing new." Steve says.

"Why did they leave?" Ollie asks, taking off his shoes. It's been a long day at school for this 8 year old.

"I don't know, Ollie. I have a theory. So, they disappear exactly 24 hours before I reappear, right?" Steve asks to clarify.

"Yeah," Eke answers, knowing everything possible about the disappearance of his siblings. "They said they were going to pick up some stuff from your house."

"But we found Kale's car parked in my driveway, and no trace of them on my property."

"Yes." Eke confirms.

"Did I cause this?" Steve asks.

"No," Eke says, but he sounds unsure.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

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	8. Chapter 8

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _Warning:torture._**

 **Chapter 8.**

Steve looked at his desk. It was piled with paperwork again. Danny wasn't bugging him to do it. 5-0 took major cases only now, and Steve was still researching every single clue the kids left behind. Two years. Still searching. Endless. Steve despairs. When he finds himself in the depths of despair, Steve thinks about the kids. Where are they? Are they ok? Are they even alive? That question plagues Steve the most. Nothing hurts Steve more than working for a goal in vain. So, Steve regards the paperwork on his desk as an obstacle, and he sets to it.

* * *

Danny pokes his head into Steve's office just as Steve files the last report on his desk.

"All caught up, Danno." Steve says as cheerily as he can.

"Steve, we got a lead."

"Danno, I don't care about this case. It was clearly his wife and HPD already took care of it-"

"On the kids." Steve is all ears.

* * *

"A gang?" Steve asks.

"One of the newly-recruited gang members anonymously tipped of HPD. Here's the note they left." Danny hands Steve a photocopy.

 _Bank robbery, Bank of Hawaii Kai Branch. 15:38. Today._

"They got one print off it and one print only." Danny gestures to the screen with Alex's face on it.

"Alex joined a gang?" Steve asks.

* * *

"You found Alex?" Eke asks.

"It's a lead," Steve explains, "and we're going to extract her from the gang."

Ollie nods excitedly.

"I need you guys to stay with Catherine for me, ok?" Steve asks.

"Not your girlfriend," Eke groans.

"Be quiet, Eke. She makes good cookies." Ollie says.

* * *

HPD and 5-0 recon the bank. They replace bank tellers with armed police, all while making it the least suspicious. As 3:38 arrives, Steve himself dresses in a suit and ducks down in a cubicle, Danny following suit, both armed to the teeth.

* * *

The first gang member strolls in, completely nonchalant. He reaches the desk and casually asks to make a deposit. Out of the blue, Alex walks in after him and asks to make a withdrawal. She sees Steve out of the corner of her eye, and frowns just the slightest bit to her teammate. Suddenly, the rest of the gang bursts in, guns blazing, and the fight ensues.

The bank teller cop pulls his gun, Alex pulls a gun, Steve and Danny pull guns, and the rest of the gang already has their guns out. Several of the gang members gang up on the cop, and the rest on Steve and Danny. Alex starts picking off her fellow gang members one by one until Steve and Danny scare the rest off. The one that asked for a deposit runs for the vault, but Alex trips him. The rest of the gang flees, leaving their injured and dead behind in their haste. Steve immediately pulls Alex into a hug. She's an 18 year old, taller than when Steve saw her last.

"Thank you," He whispers. "For leaving that note." Alex looks at him in confusion.

"I didn't leave any note."

* * *

"They said this job was especially geared for me. I honestly thought they were trying to improve my skills or something. I didn't leave a note." Alex says. She already reunited with Eke and Ollie, and Danny is asking her questions.

"Your fingerprint. Not anybody else's, your fingerprint was on that note." Danny points out.

"Boss has everybody's fingerprints. A little chemical work and that note could be from anybody in the gang." Alex counters.

"Why would he get rid of you?" Steve asks. He's leaning in the corner of the questioning room, but Alex isn't a fugitive so she isn't handcuffed to the chair. The distraction-free area helps people think better.

"I don't know. He offloads people every now and then for security. Maybe I was a breach."

* * *

"Their gang has released your sister. Now will you talk?" The hitman asks Kale with a snarl.

"No." Kale answers firmly, and a drop of blood runs down his face where the hitman presses the knife harder.

"We won't give you everything, you know. I will kill you after some time. That little brat has been more helpful than you." The hitman nods his head to the grinning Lili.

* * *

" _Tell us about the 5-0 taskforce!" The hitman yells, brandishing the knife dangerously closer._

" _Fine!" Lili shouts in anger. "I'll talk." She pauses to take a breath, but mostly to annoy the hitman. Kale shoots her a warning look. "All I know," Another pause. "Is that they all drive Chevy's," Pause. "And Steve's favorite color is blue, like his truck." The hitman roars in frustration and Lili laughs._

" _You think that's funny?" He roars. He comes closer with his knife, closer, until Lili kicks him where it counts._

* * *

Lili, still smiling, looks down at her feet that are now tied to the chair.

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)** **P.S. REVIEWS+FEEDBACK=QUICKER UPDATES**


	9. Chapter 9

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _Warning:suggested torture._**

 **Chapter 9.**

"Lili shut down her tracking system before we agreed to it." Alex explains. "Too many things could've gone wrong with it enabled."

"Are the trackers still on Kale and Lili?" Chin asks.

"Well, we put them in shirts, hoodies, and shoes, so if they still have their original clothing and shoes with them, you could probably find them." Alex thinks. "Kale has a tracker on his phone, but I'm assuming the phone was confiscated."

"Do you think you could hack this system?" Danny asks, showing her Lili's computer.

"Lili will kill you if she finds out you're touching her laptop," Eke says, warning Danny.

"I'm sure she won't mind." Kono adds.

"Considering the circumstances." Steve says.

"Still not sure she'd let you." Ollie sighs in defeat as Alex takes the computer. She prys the top up and looks at the lock screen.

"3 emails. Each probably has a different password." Steve points out.

"Well, this one is for stalking people online. You know, different account makes it harder for them to actually find you. But she wouldn't keep important stuff in there, so, not that one." Alex deduces, pointing out the first email. Eke connects the computer to the tv, allowing everyone to see. "That's her school email. It's all her important stuff, but I don't think it's that important. This only leaves the last email. She never told me what she used it for, but she used it all the time."

"It's definitely that one." Steve says. Alex tries several passwords, but none of them work. On her 7th try, the computer unlocks. Alex smiles.

"What was the password?" Danny asks.

"One of our jokes." Alex says, before groaning. "It's the wrong email!"

"But look at all the documents." Chin suggests.

"This is her Fanfiction email! No way would she keep anything important in this email." Alex sighs.

"So it's her school email," Danny guesses.

"No, it's not." Steve points to the corner of the screen. "Browse as guest. Try that." Alex clicks and suddenly the whole screen is filled with tracking information.

"Who would think she would keep her most important stuff in an unlocked guest account?" Kono asks.

"Nobody would suspect it," Chin adds.

"Except Steve." Danny says. "Now who's trackers are those?"

"Kale's. It looks like he's been wearing the same shirt and shoes for 2 whole years now." Alex says dejectedly.

"So, can we go and get him?" Eke asks impatiently.

"Yeah, let's go!" Ollie says.

"No, let's leave you here with Chin and Kono and Danno and I will go get him, ok?" Steve asks.

* * *

HPD surrounded the abandoned warehouse. Steve and Danny stood at the main entrance, already suited up in their bulletproof vests.

"On my count," Steve says, to Danny and to the rest of HPD.

"Why is it always your count, Steven?" Danny asks.

"Fine. This time we go on your count." Steve relents, not wanting to waste time arguing.

"On my count, then," Danny says. "1...2...3!" HPD storms the building. Once inside, the gang surrenders.

"Where is he?" Steve growls, holding a picture of Kale up for everybody to see. One frightened member of the gang points to a door. Danny breaks it down, revealing the steps leading downstairs.

* * *

Steve finds Kale unconscious. He's been tied up, gagged, and tossed around for the past 2 years, and it shows. His face is a deathly shade of pale, and Steve inwardly groans as he climbs inside the ambulance and takes a seat next to the still unconscious 20 year old.

* * *

Alex, Eke, and Ollie are all there when Kale wakes up.

"Wha-Where am I?" He asks.

"In the hospital," Steve replies.

"What happened?" Kale sits up, scratching his head.

"We got you out of that gang with Lili trackers." Alex answers.

"Where is Lili?" Kale asks, and Alex shows him the computer screen showing exactly none of Lili's tracking devices.

"All of them are offline." Ollie says.

"Which is why we're taking ours offline." Eke adds.

"It means that somebody forced her to take hers offline, meaning somebody could have access." Steve explains gravely. Danny enters the room.

"Steve, there's something you need to see."

 **TO BE CONTINUED...**

 _Suggestions? Questions? Comments? Leave a review._

 **;)** **P.S. REVIEWS+FEEDBACK=QUICKER UPDATES**


	10. Chapter 10

**Reviews:** Thank you for taking the time to input your opinions.

 _I do not own CBS Productions, Hawaii Five O, or any of the actual characters._

 _Without any further yada yada yada.._ _._

 ** _No major warnings for this chapter._**

 **Chapter 10.**

"What?" Steve asks.

"They found her." Danny says.

"Where?"

* * *

Steve watches as the gang leader slowly grins.

"So that brat is worth something, eh?" He asks.

"Nothing to you, sleemo." Danny says, making the gangster aware of the gun pressed to his back.

"Where is she?" Steve demands.

"Probably still resisting any method of torture hired hand try to inflict and instead turning it into a joke. These past years have been...uneventful, we'll say."

"Well you won't be saying anything after I lock you up for the kidnapping of 3 children." Steve hisses.

"Too bad they agreed to it," The gangster said, and it only took half a second for Steve to knock him out.

* * *

They found Lili having a staring contest with hired intimidation. Apparently, he just wasn't intimidating Lili, or she just wasn't showing it.

Lili doesn't indicate she's been rescued until she sees her hands. She hasn't seen her hands for the past 2 years. They'd always been tied behind her back.

When Steve asks her is she's ok, she nods.

* * *

Only once she's reunited with her siblings does she speak. Even then, it's minimal.

* * *

Steve still can't get to the bottom of it.

* * *

One night, after a particularly long day, Steve hears Lili muttering in her sleep. None of her siblings are awake, and Steve steps into their room so he can hear better.

"No, my fault, my idea," She seems to mutter over and over again. And Steve knows.

She blames herself.

* * *

He confronts Kale the next morning.

"So, it was an exchange. You 3 or more for me." Steve recaps.

"Yeah. She agreed to it with no question, did as she was told, and completely annoyed her captors, that all I know. They separated us." Kale explains.

"She blames herself for anything that happened to you or Alex because of her non-questioning attitude and willingness. Anything that happened to anybody was because of me. Because of the need for an exchange." Steve says, more to himself than Kale. But Kale heard anyway.

"You can't blame yourself."

"It's better than Lili taking the blame." Steve decides, and later he will confront Lili.

* * *

"You can't take blame." Steve says. Lili immediately knows what he's talking about and feigns stupidity.

"I'm not taking the blame for anything. You want someone to blame for this...fiasco that occurred for the past 2 years, blame the gangs. Not you, me, Alex, or Kale." Lili says, walking away without waiting for an answer.

* * *

"Hey Steven!" Danny calls out to Steve before he can leave HQ.

"What?" He asks.

"I can't just say goodbye to my favorite SuperSEAL? It has to be relevant?" Danny aks.

"No, Danno, you can't. Now what did you want to tell me?" Steve asks.

"Um, well, your adoption papers are complete. Kono and I finally found the missing papers and now CPS can't cut in." Danny says, handing a file to Steve.

"Wait, so for 2 years, 5 months, and 9 days they weren't actually my kids?" Steve asks. "But how-?"

Danny cuts him off. "CPS didn't butt in because we labeled it as part of the case when they first started living with you. When they went missing, CPS, Kono, Chin, and I all agreed it only made sense for Ollie and Eke to stay with you because they already knew and trusted you. You know, the 'stressful circumstances' made it easier for CPS to agree. But, now you have the kids, the papers, and the custody, so...good luck with your five little problems, Steve." Danny says, walking away from a speechless Steve.

"Danny," Steve calls out. "Your office is that way." Danny turns around and walks back towards his office.

"I knew that, Steven. Not one word."

* * *

Steve came home. He opens the door. He walks in. He kicks his shoes off. He grabs a beer from the fridge and settles outside with the file. He looks over the file slightly smiling when he sees the words.

 **Legal Guardian: Commander Steven McGarrett**

Is says it on each child's form. Steve checks. Then it hits him.

Where are these kids?

* * *

As soon as he opens the door to their room, he shuts it. He opens it again, not believing his eyes. He shuts the door. He takes a breath, then opens the door and enters.

"So, why are you kids reading parenting books?" Steve asks. The kids, having seen him open the door multiple times are not at all fazed at his entering.

"To help you out." They respond.

"You guys are crazy."

"So are you." Lili says. "You adopted us. Today was the deadline, and if your detective friend hadn't helped you out, I'd be frantically trying to switch guardianship to Kale before CPS butted in." Lili says, not looking up from her computer, successfully putting her new trackers online while browsing the internet for parenting tips.

"What she said." Kale sums up.

"Sooooooooooo, somehow you know?" Steve asks.

"You can thank Mr. Williams for that also." Alex says, still reading.

"Yeah, you can thank him for a _lot_." Eke adds.

"You guys want to celebrate?" Steve asks casually.

"You want to celebrate the last night of your life where you'll still be sane?" Ollie, who has been quiet the entire conversation, speaks up.

"What?" Steve asks.

"What he said." All of Ollie's siblings say in unison.

"What's for dinner?" Steve asks.

"Pasta,"

"Tacos,"

"Pizza."

"Mac and cheese,"

"Ice cream,"

* * *

Steve sighed. Ollie was right.

 **THE END  
THANKS FOR ALL THE POSITIVE REVIEWS!**


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